Principal Investigator Paula Hammond
Project Website http://web.mit.edu/hammond/lab/noemie.htm
This project consists in creating new highly ordered materials that can be incorporated into photovoltaic devices to improve their efficiency. Using genetically engineered M13 bacteriophages, as well as covalent chemistry and layer-by-layer assembly techniques, thin films with organized and well-defined architectures can be synthesized. By combining biologically-derived, polymeric and synthetic macromolecules, it is aimed to control the morphology, thickness and properties of the films. These hybrid materials can then serve as templates for the growth of titania nanowires, allowing for an improved electron transport in solar cells.